Past Life
by Chibi Botan
Summary: COMPLETED. A fanfic about Botan's past life, before she became a ferry girl. Coincidentally, this is also about some of our beloved characters, but we won't get to see which of them are here until the final chapter. So read on and I hope you enjoy it.
1. For my Brother

**Past Life**

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

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**Chapter One: For my Brother**

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Faithful to its name, the Dark Temple seemed to be covered with gray fog, casting darkness to the place.

A girl, about fifteen years of age, stood at the foot of its one-hundred-stair-entrance with an anxious look on her face.

"I must not be scared." The girl told herself.

There's no turning back. She has traveled a long distance, barefoot, just to get there. She sighed, absently brushed the stray strand of sky blue hair that was blown by the chilly air and started up the stairs.

She stopped mid-way. An old woman stood at the top, staring at her intently with dark, all-knowing eyes. The old woman's hair was long, fixed in a neat bun at her back. She was wearing dark cloak, which she could not figure out if black or navy. Ah, it didn't matter.

"Good evening," she greeted warmly, her purple eyes lighting up a bit, screaming of hope and fear at the same time. "I am-"

"I know who you are." the old woman cut in. "You shouldn't be here."

The girl blinked, and sighed silently. "I need your help. You see, I've been to your dojo…"

"I know you've been there. Didn't my people tell you that I do not entertain uninvited strangers? Especially hard-headed children like you. Leave now."

She bit her lip. She's been at the old woman's dojo twice to seek help. But the people there sent her away.

_The guru doesn't want to speak to you_. That is what they said. She didn't even get to the gate. The guards kept her from entering. From the market, she got directions to the guru's home. The Dark Temple is where she lives. So here she is now, begging for help.

"Guru, please, I need help... my brother needs help." She was feeling hopeless, and she knew it shows.

"I am sorry." the guru turned her back on her. The girl's vision started to be blurred with tears. "I cannot give you the kind of help you wanted." And she walked towards her temple, away from her.

For a while there, the girl stood staring at her feet, her tears freely flowing, an image of a young boy nagging on her mind.

_I'm doing this for him. _

Suddenly, she ran past the Guru. The guru did not look surprised, but stopped on her tracks when the girl stood defiantly in front of her.

"Please, just hear me out..." her stance was deviant, yet her voice openly showed her desperation. "I came from the Eisha Village, and that's very far, just to speak to you... Don't you think you should at least her me out?"

"No." She answered firmly.

She sighed again. "Guru, please...You are my only hope..."

The Guru shook her head. "Young lady, what you wanted is far too dangerous. A girl like you should not think of these things. Go home to your sister. I bet she's worried, since you have disappeared from your home for two days ago."

She was genuinely surprised. "How did you know all that?" All she said to the people at the dojo was her purpose for looking for the Guru. That she needed help. She didn't give too much detail.

"I am the Guru. I know everything," came her reply. It was said without any hint of false pride. She said it like it was the most natural thing.

"Well, if you know everything," the blue-haired girl said once she recovered from her surprise. "Then you know how to help me."

For the first time, the Guru smiled. It was a bitter smile. "You don't know when to give up, don't you, Botan?"

_She knows my name… my real name. What else does she know?_

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To be continued… Thank you for reading!

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Hello, dear readers. I have left only two author notes in this fanfic, so I hope you don't mind that the first one is long. :)

First of all, I want to thank you for reading this! I wrote this last November last year, finished the drafts last March, but it still took me some time to publish. This is my first fan fiction, although I finished several other fics before this. I think that my writing style changed a little by now, as when I went over this recently there were things I wanted to change in this story, but I decided against it. This is my first work, first idea, so I guess I'll just preserve the story as it was first meant to be.

Note for Yusuke/Botan fans – As much as I wouldn't want to spoil my own story, I think I need to give a little bit of a warning – if you are a hardcore fan of YB, you might not like the ending of this fic. Well, that would be a spoiler if I told you why, wouldn't it? So I can't say... What I will tell you though, is that I am NOT against YB, and that I respect both characters and everyone's preferences in terms of pairings. So I am not bashing anyone here, I promise you that. If you still go on reading this until the end, thank you very much.

Revised as of October 8, 2009 – Removed the lengthy author notes (except for the first and last chapter), fixed some spelling errors, updated the format, etc. Feel free to send me a note should you find questionable things. I'm always willing to learn from my errors :)

Disclaimer (applies to all chapters) – I do not claim ownership to Yu Yu Hakusho. I am merely a fan paying tribute. All characters from the anime and manga are property of Yoshihiro Togashi and Shonen Jump. I own the plot of this fic, and also my OCs. I doubt anyone would want them ;)


	2. Tragedy Awaits

**Past Life**

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

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**Chapter Two: Two weeks ago…**

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**II**

Eisha Village is an overcrowded place at the foot of the mountain. The inhabitants of the village came from different parts of the country, most of them relocated here from far off slum areas that were closed due to the war. A lot of these people do not know each other. They were all here to seek refuge from the chaos of war. It didn't seem to matter that they came from different races. Different language, different culture, different skin and hair color.

This is why Kino decided to move his family here. It is so easy to get by unnoticed. At first, he was afraid for her two daughters and only son. But they have been traveling— no, running— for three months now, camping in different mountains, and he could see that the children needed to have a decent place to stay.

_Decent_.

How ironic. The hut too shabby, their wooden beds too uncomfortable. But then, it's better than having to camp in the wilderness.

Kino watched his eldest daughter, Ren, gaze out the window. She was waiting for her husband, Rinji, who had traveled with them too. As soon as Rinji arrives from the mine, he will take Ren with him to his father's village. For the time being, Ren stayed with them. With Ren's condition—she had just discovered she's pregnant--she has to stay somewhere safe. They will have to split paths from then on.

Outside, happy shrieks can be heard. His second daughter and only son were playing. Fifteen year old Botan, who got her mother's sky blue hair and mauve eyes, was playing tag with six year old Keitaro.

Kino felt pride just looking at them.

Botan reminds him so much of his late wife, Hana. She had died soon after giving birth to Keitaro. She had natural sky blue hair, mauve eyes, and a warm smile that is the same as Botan's. Botan had a sunny disposition about her that was also her mother's trademark. She could be at pure bliss for something as simple as morning sunshine. Her cheerfulness keeps them all from depression. She seems to be the only one who could make Keitaro, who is often shy and quiet, shriek with laughter. On the othe hand, Keitaro and Ren had taken their features—raven black hair, emerald eyes—and reserved attitude from him.

"Sister!" Keitaro's voice disturbed Kino's line of thought. He dropped the firewood he was carrying in front of the old table and watched as Keitaro and Botan happily ran towards their sister.

"Rinji's here!" Botan happily announced. Everyone looked at the door as Rinji entered. Botan and Keitaro assisted Rinji by getting the duffel bag he was carrying and taking it to the table beside him. Ren, of course, welcomed her husband in a warm embrace. As Botan and Keitaro started to run back outside to play, Kino could not help but be worried with the look on Rinji's face.

**III**

A few minutes after that, Ren stepped into the kitchen to prepare their supper. Kino and Rinji stepped outside. Rinji has not yet spoken to his father-in-law, and Kino dreaded what he had to say. Once they are out, Kino immediately asked Rinji what was bothering him.

"There were rumors," Rinji started, staring at the two children who were playing nearby, "those strange creatures were spotted at the Dead Creek. They were wearing black cloaks. Miners believe that they are responsible for the disappearance of dozens of children in the nearby villages..."

Rinji looked at Kino. He was awfully quiet.

"Father. I think it's _them_... If we don't move fast, they might catch up on us. It will only be a matter of time, and they will search this village too. We have to leave."

They had to leave. Again. For three months now, the strange group wearing black cloaks had pursued them. From their hometown, the group tried to take Keitaro while Kino was teaching him how to fish. Kino fought for his son, and the group was not able to take him. At the time, war reached their village and people started to leave.

Before they found refuge, another dark-cloaked group tried to snatch Keitaro from them. They have a clue_,_ as to why the group wanted Keitaro. But that was beside the point. They will protect Keitaro, even if it meant running away. Knowing they will be outnumbered, it was only smart to keep away from fights.

But then again...

"We cannot keep on hiding." Kino turned his back on him. "They want Keitaro. They want to take my son. And I will not let them... But we can't keep running away. We have to fight, but not with our family nearby. The girls' lives will be endangered. Rinji... Go home to your family. Take Ren, and Botan, too. They are running after me and my son. I'll keep them busy running after me, while you..." Kino turned to Rinji, and tapped his shoulder. "You take care of my daughters."

For a while, Rinji did not answer. It hurts him to see his father-in-law look like this. He's a strong man, a great warrior, but they are fighting against unknown forces. They do not know what life has in store for them. He has every right to fear for his family. He knew, because he feels the same fear growing inside him.

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To be continued… Thank you for reading!


	3. Promises

**Past Life**

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

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**Chapter Three: Promises **

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**IV**

"_Caught you!" Keitaro happily tagged his sister. They were having so much fun, playing tag outside their hut._

"_Oh, wait... I'm so tired!" Botan laughed at herself as she leaned an arm to the cherry tree beside them. She tried to catch her breath._

_Keitaro grinned and clasped his hands together. Botan's eyes suddenly widened as she saw a red scratch on Keitaro's right arm. She rushed to him but gently took his arm. Keitaro had just noticed his bruise. He smiled when he saw her worry. "Onee chan, don't worry. It doesn't hurt a bit. See?" He grinned for her. "I'm a big boy. I can take small scratches."_

"_But, you have a bruise..." Botan bit her lip. "Uh, wait!" she ran towards their hut._

_Keitaro watched as Botan rushed home, and emerged again with a few items, salve and all, to tend to his wound. His sister had always been a worrier. She watched out for everyone, and made sure everyone's alright. She was always there for him, caring for him when he's sick, and healing every small wound he incurs._

"_There." Botan smiled and let him look at his hand. She smiled and then sighed contently. "You're OK?" Keitaro nodded. "Good. Because I promised Mother that I will always take care of you...." Her voice faltered a bit... just for a short while. And then she was smiling again, as she mused, "Besides, I hate it when I see you cry."_

_The little boy's eyes widened. "What? I didn't cry!" he protested. Botan merrily ran off, as Keitaro ran after her. "I'll catch you again!" And off they went, not knowing... that something bad is about to happen. That was the last time they were with each other._

**V**

_One moment they were having fun. He and his sister had collapsed on the grass laughing their hearts out._

_The next thing he remembered, he heard a loud noise, and then the hush of running feet. He opened an eye to peek._

_In a split second, his father grabbed him forcefully, then carried him away from where he was lying._

_He heard his sister's voice, she was shouting for him. Rinji tried to make Botan stop shouting. _

_His father, carrying him, while he tried to push his father's arm to see his sister. She had been dragged by Rinji. _

_What was happening? He tried to shout, but his father anticipated it, and covered his mouth. _

_He wiggled away to see Rinji and Botan running back to the back of the hut. They were heading to the forest, and he could see that Ren was headed there too. _

_But where was his father taking him? He tried once again to free himself. _

_He didn't need to. The demons knocked his father out and took him._

**VI**

_Back to present._

Botan silently followed the Guru towards the Dark Temple. _It looks so different inside,_ Botan thought. _It doesn't seem... dark. _

As they were about to enter the door, Botan stopped and looked at the floor. The Guru instantly realized what the girl was thinking. For a few days now, the girl travelled, and somewhere along the way her slippers were lost.

_Looks like she had a rough time_, the Guru thought. The cloak she was wearing were mildly torn at the hems. Her hair was kept in a not so neat band on her back. For a traveller, she carried no satchel with her. the Guru felt a pang of pity for the girl.

_She's too young,_ she lamented silently. _She's too young for everything I foresee that will happen to her... _She sighed mentally as she remembered how speechless the girl had been since she called her by her name. _Did she think she can fool me? _But she knew herself that Botan had not meant to fool her. She introduced herself as Naya to everyone because she had to protect herself. She had to _hide._

"Yumi." the guru summoned her granddaughter. Seemingly out of nowhere, Yumi emerged. She was wearing a uniform identical to the ones being worn in the dojo. She looked about the same as Botan's age. Her hair was neatly braided and dark brown. "Lend Botan some clothing and a pair of slippers. Be fast." With that, she left Botan to Yumi.

**VII**

"So, where are you from? Are you going to train with Guru, too?" Yumi's voice was friendly and kind. As she walked to and from in her spacious room, she dropped a few things from her closet to Botan's hand. She didn't wait for Botan's answer, and shoved her to dress up. In a few minutes, Botan was dressed up in dojo uniform and red tatami sandals. She had fixed her hair too.

Then, they headed back. Yumi noticed Botan's silence. "Don't worry. She dislikes to be called Grandma, and could be grumpy at times... but she's nice. She let you in, didn't she?" She stared at her for a moment. "She just knows danger when she senses it. And she's trying to keep you off from hurting yourself."

Botan stopped. "How could you know something like that? Are you a... fortune-teller?"

Yumi smiled a little before she answered. "No, not like that. Let's just say, I'm the Guru's granddaughter and I know what she's thinking." They stopped in front of a room. She opened the sliding door and they entered.

On the floor, the Guru was seated. A short table was set in front of her. She motioned Botan to sit on the other side, which she promptly did. "You should eat," she told her, as Yumi left the room. Botan was about to say she wasn't hungry at all, though she really was, but Guru stared at her in a way she wouldn't dare but obey. She tried to eat, but she found that all her worries made her hunger fade away. Finally the Guru accepted that, and asked what she needed. (Though she already knew it…)

"I… came here to seek your help." She started to explain. "My brother… the Sorcerer took him."

The Guru closed her eyes. "And you want him back. But it is not that easy. The Sorcerer is powerful. His strength is beyond any fighter in this land. Do you know that he uses power that _no one_ has ever seen before? This world has seen so many creatures from everywhere, but none were as feared as the Sorcerer."

"I know. But I promised to keep my brother safe… And what does he need with my brother? He's only a _child_."

"He is not just any child. He is Kino's _heir._"

Heir. What heir? They were a poor family. The only thing they owned was a patch of land their home once stood. But that, too, was not theirs anymore.

Botan refrained herself from asking. The Guru knew too much. She probably knew a lot more than Botan and Ren knew about their lives. Their past. She knew she had no right to ask questions... Just as she never asked her father why they were running, and who were they running from in the first place? She felt it. Ren and Keitaro felt it too.

From the time they left their hometown, they have been in hiding. Rinji definitely knew why, but his only explanation was that they had to get away from the war. Maybe it was one of the reasons, she didn't care. The war was just another war started by two officials fighting to take over their rich homeland.

That didn't matter to Botan.

Her brother was taken away from them. And from the looks of it, the only person who seemed to be capable of helping her was only trying to scare her off, trying to make her decide not to go on with her journey.

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To be continued… Thank you for reading!


	4. Forlorn Hope

**Past Life**

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

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**Chapter Four: Forlorn Hope **

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**VIII**

For a while, the two sat in silence. The guru could feel Botan's hope diminishing. Perhaps the girl realized that the guru had no plans to help her.

"Botan."

Botan looked at the guru. Her eyes told her nothing. But she did not look away.

"I'm asking you this only once, so think before you answer. To what extent are you willing to have your brother back?"

Had the question been asked to someone else, that someone might have felt either challenged or insulted. But Botan felt neither. She felt hope dissipating. No doubt she'd do anything for Keitaro, but the way the guru fired the question scared her. It was as if she was afraid to hear her answer.

Still... "Whatever it takes." _Even my life._

The guru needn't react. She had expected that answer. "I see." She stood, and turned her back from the girl. She walked towards the window. "What made you think I'm the person who could help you?"

"When Keitaro was taken, Father left us to save him. He wouldn't allow me to go with him. My sister, Ren, and her husband, Rinji, took me to their village to hide. But I wanted to look for my brother. I asked them questions, but they wouldn't answer me. I don't know where to start finding answers. I asked other people about the sorcerer. No one wanted to tell me anything. I guess they were too afraid of him. And then I heard about a certain guru... _you..._ who was supposed to know _everything. _So.. I ran away to find you." No need for her to hide it, the guru had already guessed that earlier. "...hoping you can give me the information everyone seemed to hide from me.."

"They wouldn't want to give you information that would potentially hurt you."

"You keep saying that.." she whispered, "..that what I'll learn will hurt me. That it's too dangerous for me."

"Because you wanted more, didn't you? You wanted me to teach you how to fight him. Botan, you don't understand... Don't judge him by his _name_."

**IX**

Botan wasn't sure if she fully understood. The guru knew this, and asked, "What is a sorcerer? What do you know about this kind of creature? Have you ever seen one?"

The girl thought for a moment. Sorcerers were a common story from were she grew up, but honestly, she had never seen any. She was sure there really are sorcerers, but all she knew of them was from stories.

The guru smiled her I-knew-I'm-right smile. But the girl did not see it.

"You see, Botan, this particular sorcerer is the first one people have really encountered. These people do not know how powerful this creature is. They named him The Sorcerer for he possesses power, and is quite a mystery_. ''Like from the stories'_, people would say. But they wouldn't know the difference..."

"You mean, he's not just a_ magician…_"

"Exactly." The guru nodded. "There is a difference between magic and power. A huge difference."

"I see." _She's trying to discourage me._

If the guru knew what she's thinking, she didn't comment on it.

"So, you see, Botan, calling him _The Sorcerer _is a grave understatement."

"...And defeating him is _impossible_." The guru didn't have to say it, she already knew where this conversation was going.

The guru finally looked at her. "Right."

The girl shook her head. "Wrong."

The guru sighed, resignedly. "What?"

Botan looked down, her hands forming a fist on her lap, her shoulders starting to shake. "Why would you let me in? Why would you talk to me like this? Why would you even ask how far I would go... if there was nothing I could do?"

_She's smarter than I gave her credit for, _the guru thought, watching the girl break in front of her.

"I know," Botan continued, "that you know something. I'm not asking you to teach me to fight him... Please, at least tell me what you know about him. That's all I ask, and I'll leave."

_There's really nothing I could do. I tried to keep her away... but I really can't keep her from knowing. Forgive me, Hana, but I'll have to tell her._

**X**

"I know you've realized from the start that I wasn't planning to help you," the guru started.

By now, Botan has calmed down a bit, though her eyes are still weary.

"I really don't. There's too much risk. But since you are sure you want to save Keitaro, you need to know who you're fighting. As I said earlier, The Sorcerer is not the common sorcerer we know from the stories. It was lack of knowledge that the people who first saw him tagged him as a sorcerer."

Botan nodded absently.

"His name is Satori. From when he was young he was obsessed with being superior. A regular bully. He wanted to be special, to be different from all of humanity. At the start, it's all about fascination in magic. Learning the abilities others doesn't know. Simple magic tricks. He mastered sorcery on his own. But he got bored. You see, he was too smart for his own good."

The guru shaked her head in sadness.

"He learned about power. That there was more to learn and master other than _magic._ That human strength and spiritual energy can be converted as _power_, and that he can use it to take down any weaker being. No more magic tricks, no more young sorcery. He hungered for power. Eventually, he found out about Makai."

"Makai?" Botan echoed. _As in Makai, from my father's stories?_ she wondered. She didn't know Makai was real.

"Yes, Makai. The demon world. He learned that there's a place where powerful beings reside. Hungering for other creatures' energy, he combined old sorcery tricks and newly-learned power to get there. There was no stopping him. He fed on other's powers. That's how he survived Makai. He turned himself into a demon."

"A demon..." Botan sighed, finding it all hard to take in. But she knew a lot more is about to come. "Where does Keitaro come in?"

"Keitaro is a power source, so he needs him."

She blinked. "Power source?"

The guru nodded. "Boundless demon power runs through his vein. Your father, he used to be an S-class demon."

For a while there, the guru thought the girl would faint. Why, her face turned all white.

_Breathe._

**XI**

The guru knew it would be hard to accept. But Botan bounced back to normal color quite easier than she expected. The girl still could not comment on the guru's revelation, so she just kept talking.

"Long ago, your father was one of the strongest demons in Makai. He lived there on his own, he didn't have many friends. Well, he was a fighter. But one day, he met a beautiful reigen— one from the Spirit world— who somehow was lost in Makai forest. It was a very dangerous place to be, and soon she was cornered by a group of demons intent to steal a certain item from her. When your father came, he tried to save the reigen and destroyed the demon thugs. But she was already in a bad shape. She was about to die. She gave the item to your father, asking him to carry it back to the Spirit World for her. Your father realized then that the item was the Forlorn Hope."

The guru stopped to check her reaction. She had no idea what the Forlorn Hope was.

"When all hope is gone, you make a request to the Forlorn Hope. It will give you your wish, but it will take something in return."

Botan bit her lip. She had guessed what was coming. "He asked the help of the Forlorn Hope to save her."

The guru nodded at her.

"And what was taken from him?"

"In turn for saving her life, the Forlorn Hope took away what was most important to him then--his powers. He became a regular, low-class demon." The guru clasped her hands together, and paused for a while. "Because he used to be a higher-level demon, it was natural that many demons hated him. Mostly those he had defeated before. If he stayed in Makai, someone will eventually discover his weakness and he will be hunted to death. So he left for the only place he thought safe-- the human world."

"What about the reigen?"

The guru smiled. "Your father couldn't just leave her there, so he took her with him. When she woke up, though her spirit energy had been drained when she almost died, she felt physically stronger. She realized what he had done for her and asked Enma to let her stay until she finds a way to repay him. That reigen was Hana. But of course, you have guessed by now."

Again, Botan nodded absently. Her father was a demon and her mother, a reigen. What more to learn?

"Your mother stayed and eventually, they fell in love. Enma later allowed her to marry your father, though she had been warned that she may be tracked later in the human world when her spirit energy starts to come back. Both your parents decided they will just have to learn how to mask her spirit energy_ if_ it ever came back, while your father tried his best to regain his energy by all means. It didn't matter to him how, but he trained very hard. When they had the three of you, your parents knew they made the right decision. This is where the problem with Keitaro started..."

**XII**

"For some reason, you and sister don't emit any demon ki from your father. Maybe this is because your father had not recovered his demon energy until around Keitaro's birth. Up until the two of you were born, your parents still had not recovered their powers. My guess was both came back about the time Keitaro was conceived. You see, Keitaro was too complex even as a baby. Your father's demon energy and your mother's spirit energy clashing within him, as he grows in your mother's womb. It was because of that, that your mother fell ill while she carried him. They wanted to seal Keitaro's demon energy because it would be easily detected from Makai... So, they came to me to ask for help."

"That's how you knew my parents..."

"Yes. But I had nothing to help them with. There is no way to subdue Keitaro's power while in her womb. At least, not until the child was born. We needed a spirit energy.." She hesitated for a while before she continued, "Only a sophisticated spirit energy can seal a demon energy that strong."

"Your mother used her spirit energy to seal Keitaro's demon energy. It was too strong, and your mother pushed herself to her limit. We couldn't stop her. What we didn't expect was, instead of Keitaro's demon energy, it was his spirit energy that gave out. So you see, it is demon energy that was left within Keitaro. And for Hana..."

"It made her weaker and weaker..." Botan whispered. That much she could remember. Hana being sickly after Keitaro was born. "And not long after... she died."

"I'm sorry. We could not prevent it..."

"It's not your fault..." Botan looked at the guru's eyes. "So it is the demon energy that the sorcerer wanted from Keitaro."

"Yes."

"Well," Botan stood straight, a determined look settling upon her face. "I'll make sure he won't get it."

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To be continued… Thank you for reading!


	5. Fates

**Past Life**

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

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**Chapter Five: Fates **

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**XIII**

The guru didn't know what to make of Botan's declaration.

"_I'll make sure he won't get it."_

The girl had said that determinedly.

_If she only knew what she will have to give in return of her brother's safety..._

The guru mentally shook her head. She knew that the girl is willing to do anything to save her brother.

"_Whatever it takes."_

The guru has yet to shake off the dread she felt when she first learned what will happen to the girl. She stared at the blue haired teen standing in front of her. _What a waste. _Her family could have been happy, if not for some power-hungry demon named Satori.

_Enma Daioh.. How could you forbid me from helping? And why her?_

**XIV**

_Yumi_

She can read the guru's mind. She doesn't know how she can do it, but ever since she stayed with the guru, she started hearing the guru's thoughts as if she was whispering them to her.

It was not nice, it feels like invading the guru's privacy. So she tries to block it off. This ability is underdeveloped, and most of the time it's like a broken static in her head, and for some reason, she can only use it with the guru. For six years now, she lived under her care. Her grandmother, caretaker, and sensei. Everybody who knew the old woman calls her Guru, because she knew _almost_ everything.

As to how, Yumi can only guess. Most likely, she inherited this ability from her… the ability to hear thoughts. From his thoughts, you learn a lot about a person.

Somehow, they lived in peace. Yumi stayed away from the guru's activities. She respects the guru a lot, and lets her have her privacy. But sometimes, her curiosity gets the better of her.

Like this morning, when she saw the blue-haired girl. From the left side of the temple, she watched the guru turn her back on the girl. She watched in surprise, the girl was obviously asking for help and the guru was not planning to help her. _That_ got her curious. The guru may not be the friendliest person around, but she's not heartless either. And the girl looked so fragile; anyone would want to help her. She tried to listen in.

"_She's too young for everything I foresee that will happen to her...She has to hide." _

These two lines she clearly heard from the guru's thoughts. What does that mean?

The guru can sense she was _listening_, and shut her out. Until now, as she left the two alone, she could feel that the Guru has blocked her from hearing her thoughts. Yumi could only tell that whatever it was the guru had foreseen was something negative. Something bad is about to happen if the guru helped the girl find her brother. But what harm could be done? She only wanted to save her brother. If Yumi was in Botan's position, she would do the same.

When she left Botan with the Guru, she couldn't help but think of what the two could be discussing. She soon found herself heading back and listening as the Guru talks about the Sorcerer.

"_He combined old sorcery tricks and new power..."_

Yumi smiled at that. _Sorcery, huh? Interesting._

She tiptoed back to her room. Once there, she retrieved a pale gray satchel that she had kept under her bed. It was heavy. She dusted it off and didn't bother checking the contents. She then hurried to her closet and packed a few items to a large camping pack. When she was done packing, she put the satchel in. Now, she's ready. All she needed to do is to wait until Botan leaves.

**XV**

Somewhere far from the human world, a toddler and a woman were watching Botan and the Guru from a large oval screen.

The woman wears a black kimono. Her hair is just as dark and tied in a low bun. Her expression was grim. She looked worriedly at the toddler sitting in a large chair beside her. He paid no attention to her. His small hand on his chin, his expression serious.

"Sir," the woman tried to get his attention.

"Yes, Ayame?" the toddler answered, but was still staring at the oval screen.

"What's going to happen now?"

The toddler straightened on his seat, and shook his head. "I can't tell you that."

"Why not?" it was obvious that the woman was trying to subdue her reaction. "With all due respect, Sir, **I **watched out for her all these years. We can't let her face Satori. She's too young and naive."

Finally he looked at her. "I know. I know you watched out for her, though you never told anyone. I know you promised Hana you'll watch out for her daughter. But fate is fate, Ayame, whatever we do, it will happen. You have to understand. Nobody can help her."

"You're the prince of Reikai," Ayame whispered. "You know a lot of powerful people. There's got to be someone out there who could help her."

"It isn't power we need. And my father has already forbidden me and Guru to meddle with this. Now that the guru is done with her part, we'll have to keep our hands off this matter."

Ayame blinked. "W-why would Enma Daioh do that..? And what do you mean, the Guru has done her part?"

"Her part is only to let Botan know about the sorcerer. I know that before Hana died, she asked you both not to let the children know anything about Reikai and Makai. Hana thought that if they don't know anything, they'll be safe.

So at first, the guru didn't want to tell anything to Botan. But she realized now that there is nothing she can do about it. If she won't tell Botan, Botan will learn from someone else."

Ayame looked back to the screen, wondering what Enma Daioh had planned for the girl who was her best friend's daughter. Before Hana met Kino in Makai, she had been working as a messenger for Koenma.

Ayame was already a ferry girl then, and worked back and forth on the crossroads while Hana worked in the office. But they still tried to spend time together and treated each other like sisters.

When Hana died, it was Ayame who ferried her. She made her promise to look out for her children.

"Can you at least tell me, that Botan will be fine?" she asked softly.

"I'm sorry, Ayame. I really cannot tell you _anything_. Only that my father knows what he's doing. He will not let this happen to Botan for no reason. _You_ will understand soon."

Whether Ayame believed that, she didn't say. She politely excused herself, and went back to her ferrying duties.

**XVI**

The blue ogre hurried inside the prince's office, carrying a high stack of papers he needed to sign. He almost tripped and barely managed to keep the stack from scattering on the floor when Ayame passed by. She didn't notice that she almost knocked the blue ogre over.

The ogre put the stack on the desk, and was about to ask the toddler something when he noticed the serious expression he was wearing. He followed his line of vision, and found himself looking at the oval screen. It zoomed in on a face—a very familiar face.

"Hana," he said, wide-eyed. The reigen used to work with them.

"No, no.. It's her daughter." Koenma absently corrected him.

"Ah. They look very much alike. It would be nice to meet her. I bet she'll be as downright sassy," he said smiling, remembering the reigen's cheerfulness. Then his eyes went wide when he realized the connotation of what he said. "Oh, heheh.." He patted the back of his head and hastily explained, "Sir, I did not mean that I would want her to reach Reikai yet, I mean, she's young and won't need any ferrying yet--"

Koenma waved his small hand in front of the ogre's face, making him stop his mindless blabber. "No matter, ogre.. you will all meet her _soon._"

The ogre's face fell, and was about to question that.

"Ah," Koenma waved him away, not in the mood for any conversation. "Just leave. I have a lot of papers to sign." He glared at the ogre who was reluctant to leave. "Now!"

The ogre ran fast outside.

**XVII**

Ayame couldn't focus on doing her job. She was too worried. Right after ferrying the first batch of souls, she gave up trying.

She knew where she wanted to go— to the Dark Temple. On her way, she felt a sense of being "called" by a soul. She ignored it, knowing that a fellow ferry girl is nearby and will attend to the wandering soul.

All ferry girls have this ability. When someone's death is very near, they could sense it. That_ pull_ is a lot stronger when sensing a lost soul. Sometimes there is no need to check _Enma's Register _to find the exact location of a soul.

As she landed near the Dark Temple, she felt another _pull_. She frantically glanced around, as her oar fades from her hand. She could feel her heart beat faster. No lost souls around. Just...

A blue haired girl emerged from the gate. She meekly waved goodbye to someone who stayed inside.

Ayame stared at the girl, who was a perfect replica of Hana. Her eyes followed the girl as she left the place. Her heart sank. She could only stare. This blue-haired girl is the source of the _pull _she felt earlier. Her time is near.

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To be continued… Thank you for reading!


	6. Kensei

**Past Life**

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

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**Chapter Six: Kensei **

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**XVIII**

At a deep cavern at the heart of the cave, a little boy has finally gained consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes. The first thought that entered his mind was that he cannot see anything—it was so dark wherever he was.

He tried to move his hands, but he cannot move a bit. His hands seemed to be bound behind him. He found that he was sitting cross-legged and cannot stand, as if some invisible bond was holding him in place.

He sighed, and wondered what happened to him. He remembered he was playing with his sister in front of the hut. Rinji had called his sister, and as she was entering the hut a group of dark-cloaked creatures appeared and took him away. He remembered his sister screaming, and his father fighting to take him back. But there were so many. The last thing he remembered was hearing his father shouting back to Rinji and telling him to take his sisters to a safe place.

Something caught his attention: someone had just arrived. He did not hear any footsteps, but he was certain there is someone. A cold voice confirmed this.

"You're awake." It came directly in front of him, perhaps just a few feet away.

"Who are you?"

"I am Satori."

He could suddenly see him, through a faint light, a certain glow emitted from him. Keitaro cringed with what he saw. He was a huge creature, wearing a dark, creepy cloak. The hood of the cloak was pushed back on his nape, and his face was visible to him. His face was ashen, his eyes bloody red. There was a dark circle around his eyes, and Keitaro wondered if he had any sleep for the past year. He emitted the stench of a dying corpse, but he could see that he is a human. Still, that weird glow of his eyes scared him.

"Where is my father?" He feared that he had taken his father too.

"Your father." Satori smiled. "I have no need for your father. He is no longer the powerful being that he was before. I sought him out in the human world, but it turned out that he is but a weakling. While you, _Kensei_, you are more powerful that your father. You're exactly what I needed."

"Kensei?" Keitaro repeated. "You're mistaken. My name is Keitaro."

"Ah," Satori waved off what he was saying. "It doesn't matter what your ningen mother named you. You are Kensei, everyone in Makai knows that Kino's heir is to be named Kensei. He will inherit all of Kino's strength... And that is what I need from you. You see, after this small _party_, everything that is _yours _will be _mine_." Satori's eyes slanted and his lips curled into a disturbing smirk.

**XIX**

"Did she say left, or was that right?" Botan wondered. In front of her was a tall tree separating two paths. She could not remember which direction the guru has given her.

After telling her about the sorcerer, Botan decided to leave immediately. The last thing she asked the guru was where she could find the sorcerer. Reluctantly, the guru told her about the Dead Creek. It was on the other side of the mountain where the Dark Temple was built. She was given directions, but now she found that she had forgotten them.

She chose the left road. Hearing the rustle of leaves, Botan looked at the top barren tree on the left side, thinking that something there had just moved. She went on, but she wasn't looking where she was going. She realized that only when she was about to trip on a fallen log. Just before she lost balance, a firm hand steadied her.

"Hey, watch it. This road is very dangerous."

She looked back to see Yumi smiling at her. She straightened herself and blurted out, "Are you following me?"

Yumi grinned and said, "Yes."

"It's dangerous. You should go back."

"I know a few things about sorcery. I can help you out," she bribed. "Besides, there's nothing fun to do at the temple. Don't you think _this _is more exciting?"

Botan thought of it just a little, and accepted to herself that she needed company. "Well, do you know where to go?" She asked, a little more cheerfully now. It feels good to have company, no matter how dangerous this could be.

"Yes, I do. In fact, I was just about to tell you that you're going the _wrong _way."

**XX**

"Here, meet the others who will join our party tonight." Satori raised his hand, and suddenly a star-like shape formed on the ground surrounding Keitaro. The shape was made of a faint yellow glow. The same glow made him realize that they were not alone, five other boys were there. The pitch darkness of the cavern had hidden them from sight. They sat at each end of the star-like shape and like him; the boys were sitting cross-legged with their hands bound at their back.

As if on cue, the boys awoke and tried to move away. "You can not move away from there," he informed them. "All of us are bound in our place." They became silent, and stared fearfully at Satori.

"Isn't this nice?" Satori seemed very happy about the situation. "A party for the descendants of the once most powerful demons in Makai." He started calling out the names of each child. "Kasai, descendant of the strongest fire demon. Kuuki, from the master of the winds. Mizu, from the demon who controls the streams. Chi, of the earth. Iki, from the spiritual master. And Kensei. The power source."

"What are you planning to do?" asked Chi worriedly.

"Can't you see," Kasai shouted, "he's going to sacrifice us! You only have to see that pentagram on the ground."

"But... it's a bit different than..." Mizu was trembling, and couldn't say anything next.

"Yes, it is different." Satori proudly confirmed. "I have devised this ritual as a means of _harvesting_ power." He was still smiling, and Keitaro had the impression that he is enjoying the confused and frightened looks of these children. It seemed to him, too, that he was proud to discuss his plans to them. "With all of you as my power source, I'm going to be the most powerful being in all three worlds!"

All of them tried to move away at once, but remembered that they were bound.

"We're good as dead," Iki was close to crying.

"Ah, do not worry. Perhaps you will still walk away after I gather all of your energy. Maybe. But as for _Kensei_," he looked at him in a disturbing way, as if he was about to eat him. "I will need his body after the last phase of see, when I become more powerful, I will need a stronger vessel. And that would be _you_."

**XXI**

"Why, six years ago, did you refuse to name my son _Kensei_?"

The Guru knew Kino will arrive, but she did not expect him to be here this soon, and definitely not with this kind of question.

"Mind if I ask what made you ask that now? Six years ago you didn't mind when Hana and I agreed on naming him _Keitaro_. It wasn't such a big deal." She turned his back on him. How she hated the situation they are stuck in.

"Back then, it didn't matter. But now, I wonder why you _violently _disagreed then."

When Keitaro was born, he had wanted to name him Kensei. When the guru found out about it, she disagreed, and made sure they would not name him anything that is synonymous with "power" or "powerful". There was something with the way she had said that such a name can bring trouble for the child, but he had let it pass, because Hana didn't mind at all. They named their child _Keitaro_, because as Hana said, he was a blessing from the heavens.

"As I've said before, it will just bring trouble for the child. Everyone in the Demon World knew you wanted to have a son and name him Kensei. You were hiding, remember, and that name might just connect him to you."

Kino shook his head. "I was at the riverside earlier, because I heard that some of the children who were lost just appeared at the foot of the mountain. There were other men, and they told me that there are still five children who has not returned. Apparently, those who came back remembers nothing of what happened prior to their disappearance."

He continued, "A list of the names was recited. There was this man in front, who was alarmed after hearing the names. This man knew some things about sorcery, and noticed something. It was obvious to him what the names signified. He said, the names signified important elements. Fire, wind, water, earth, spirit. He was sure that, if it was the sorcerer who took the children, then there must be another child other than the five."

"Because, an element is missing," the guru said.

"He said that the name of the child will tell something important. Something of elemental sort. And I remembered, _Kensei. _Power. Strength."

The guru nodded. "I foresaw that something like this will happen. The sorcerer got the idea from the children's names. He used his knowledge in these rituals, and somehow made use of it for whatever he was planning. These kids were _chosen_."

"I know little about sorcery, but I gathered from the men that they're fearing it has something to do with a ritual--a sacrifice. Guru, I need to find Keitaro before anything happens," he said that with both urgency and desperation in his voice. "I need your help."

The guru asked him to follow her. They entered Yumi's room, and the guru was searching for something. "The only thing I could help you with is to lend you a book that will help you understand what the Sorcerer knows. Other than that, there's nothing I could do."

Kino was about to say something, when the guru suddenly looked surprised. "What is it?"

**XXII**

"The book. Yumi took it." She stopped for a second and seemed to be in deep thought. "_She followed Botan_. And I thought she knew better than to stay out of trouble."

"Botan?" Kino repeated. "_My _Botan?"

"Yes, your daughter. She was here earlier."

"But I left her with Rinji. She can't be—"

"She was here to ask for help looking for her brother. She left an hour ago and headed to the Dead Creek."

"And you didn't help her?" He was shouting at her now.

"I tried to stop her," she answered calmly. "But she's a stubborn child."

"I'm wasting my time there." Kino knew the guru enough to see that she wasn't going to help.

He rushed back to the Dead Creek where Botan was supposed to have gone. He didn't have any trouble finding his way, but it was a long run. He knew that Botan had left an hour ago, but he made sure to listen to his surroundings in case she was just near.

Towards the creek, he encountered a group of dark-cloaked creatures. Unlike when he first saw them, their cloaks no longer hid their face. It was then that he realized they were demons from Makai.

_Weak type of demons_.

Long ago, Kino could have killed all of them in a flash. But now, he had to depend on his remaining physical strength.

Kino estimated that there are thirty of them. They attacked him almost at the same time. He noted that the demons, like him, depends on physical attacks. He tried to make use of anything around him to keep them from hitting him. By throwing fallen logs at them he managed to sweep half of them towards the creek.

**XXIII**

Botan ran as fast as she could.

She was not sure of their exact location, but Yumi said that they are near the Dead Creek. They found an old map on the book, and used it as a guide. But even with the help of a map, they were not sure if they could find the underground cave that was rumored to be Satori's hideout. The underground cave should be there, just across the creek, hidden by huge rocks.

_Earlier, Botan was scanning the book while they were walking. She passed by a small part about rituals such as sacrifice. Yumi told her what she knew about it. They were, for a moment, engrossed with the topic._

_She was still scanning the book when she accidentally walked into a trap-- which was covered by grass. But before she fell, Yumi managed to pull her away. _

_From seemingly out of nowhere, a group of demons went after Yumi. The biggest from the group caught Yumi by her clothes. Botan threw a huge rock to that demon to distract him. Her plan succeeded, and Yumi managed to run away from him. _

_She was about to follow her, but the demons were in the way. She ran to the other direction. _

Now, she kept running, and Yumi is out of sight. It took her a long time before she was sure that no one is following her. She can't go back; the demons may still be around the corner. She felt hopeless. Now she got Yumi in trouble, too.

And then she noticed she was still carrying the sorcery book and the map as well. Yumi had seen the map longer than she did. It's llikely she will remember the right way. If she continue on and follow the map, maybe they will meet somewhere near the cave.

Ah, maybe it's not so hopeless after all.

**XXIV**

A small demon threw himself at him, head first, intending to hurt him with his horns. He caught him, two hands on his horns, and leaned back to gather momentum. With all his strength left, he forcefully hurled the demon to the crowd that was about to attack him. It was enough to stun them and make them fall to the ground a few feet back.

Not intending to waste more time, he leapt past the pile of fallen demons. He will need to cross the shallow side of the creek, which was at the other end of the forest. From where he stood, he could see the boulders of rock that hid the entrance to an underground cave.

_Hang on, Keitaro, Botan. I'm almost there._

He was ready to cross to the other side when he heard a scream. He looked back to see a girl running from the few demons who are now back on their feet. He debated whether to save the girl or continue, and was tempted to leave her because he had already wasted so much time.

_She must be just about Botan's age. _

He headed back.

* * *

To be continued… Thank you for reading!


	7. A Visit from the Prince of Reikai

**Past Life**

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

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**Chapter Seven: A Visit from the Prince of Reikai **

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**XXV**

Kino headed back.

He has no extra time to spare, but the girl was in trouble and he had to save her. He realized as soon as he got near that he underestimated the demons running after the girl. There were too many.

A green, bulky demon was the first to notice him, blocking him from the huge one-eyed demon who just caught the girl. He evaded his attacks, intent on getting to the girl as soon as possible. Being smaller than the demon and definitely faster than it, he evaded his blows efficiently. When a smaller demon tried to help the bigger one, he used a long twig and whipped him once, but very forcefully, and threw him towards the first one.

His eyes were focused to the girl as he ran away from the fallen two. Almost all of the demons were now surrounding the girl held by the one-eyed youkai as if she was a trophy. They did not notice him as he approached.

He jumped up--high enough to land on the head of a demon that was near the girl. It was only for a second, and before that demon reacted, he jumped again, high kick ready to hit the one-eyed youkai. He hit his head, enough to make him drop the girl on the ground. Kino must have expected him to fall, as easy as the others did, but he was wrong.

Skin turning red, definitely fuming, the one-eyed youkai caught his feet as he started to move away. He pulled his feet hard, and Kino felt as if his bones have been broken inside. The youkai threw him towards the crowd, all of which were ready to pounce on him. One by one, they hit him, and Kino wasn't given a chance to fight back.

**XXVI**

Meanwhile, Yumi watched, horrified as her savior is being beaten by dozens of demons. She didn't have any power to help him, but she could try something to distract them. She saw that she was surrounded by small fallen branches and different plants.

She reached for her pocket and found a box of matches. She lit one and threw it to a bush near her. When the first didn't work, she tried again, until the fourth successfully made a small fire. The small fire she made immediately scattered. As fast as she could, she burned the branches and threw them to the demons. In a matter of seconds their attention was turned towards her.

Unfortunately, the fire didn't scare them away as she expected it to, and the one-eyed youkai was in fact amused by her action.

He left Kino on the ground and started towards her.

**XXVII**

"What a little spitfire we have here," the youkai smirked as he turned away from Kino and started towards the girl.

Badly beaten, Kino could barely stand up. All his physical energy was spent.

He saw that the girl now stopped throwing torched branches, and is looking fearfully at the youkai. All the other demons found this amusing, and followed the one-eyed demon's actions. From the ground, he could see that the girl has fallen on her knees, and is about to cry. This made all the demons even happier. No one paid attention to him. After all, he was beaten up, there's nothing he can do, right?

_Not if..._

Kino stretched out his right hand, watching as it started to glow.

_This is what I've been training so hard all these years._

Still on the ground, he clenched his fists and concentrated. And then, he knew he was ready. He aimed high--making sure the girl on the ground would not be hurt. And...

"Spirit blast!!!"

**XXVIII**

Botan stared once again at the map, making sure she got the directions right. The Dark Temple where she came from was from the west part of the map. When she was still with Yumi, they headed south-east, which was the right way towards the cave. It was the same way Yumi ran to when they were separated.

She, on the other hand, ran north-bound. She sighed as she realized that she was still very far from the cave. She had to take a long cut since she already knew the fastest route (to head back from where she came from) was dangerous.

So she half-ran half-walked as fast as she can, trying not to make so much noise. Demons could be lurking in this part of the forest. She tried to hide herself whenever she heard any hint that there are other creatures nearby. Just now, she heard something weird—loud, scary flapping of wings.

It was too late when she looked up. A huge flying creature caught her by its beak.

Suppressing a scream, Botan clutched the book and map tightly as she tried to wriggle herself away from the creature's grasp. She only stopped when she realized how high they already are.

She was trying to think of a way out of this, when she saw several other bird-like creatures heading towards them. They looked fierce. Botan remembered Yumi vaguely mentioning earlier that there were giant aviary demons infesting the forest, and they are now extinct for killing each other over _food_. She cringed as she realized _she_ is going to be this creature's supper if she didn't get away from this. But how? They were at least two stories high.

Suddenly the other creatures were there, fighting each other over _her_. She felt dizzy from being jerked around as the creatures tried to steal her away from the one who caught her.

She prayed to fall.

And she did, very badly.

**XXIX**

It took Yumi a full minute before she realized she is now safe. She looked past the fallen youkai in front of her, and hurried towards the man who saved her. He was in bad shape, but he looked so triumphant. She helped him sit up.

He seemed oblivious to her presence. He was whispering, _"My powers are back!"_ repeatedly.

Yumi thought for a while and finally making a connection. She remembered the Guru mentioning about Botan's father losing his powers.

"Are you Botan's father?" she asked right away. Kino noticed her then and nodded. "Thank you for helping me, I am Yumi and I--"

"You're Yumi?" Kino braced himself for bad news. "Where is my daughter? The guru believes you are with her."

Yumi informed him briefly about their short misadventure and told him how they got separated. She then rushed to assure him. "Don't worry, she has the map, and I _know_ she'll be fine. I think we have to head to the cave fast, she'll most likely be heading straight there."

Kino had no choice but to agree. Somehow, with some of his old powers back, he felt more hopeful that they will get through this.

**XXX**

She fell on _rocks._

She knew the creatures followed her down where she fell, and she half-expected them to catch her again. But she was too hurt to even notice that someone has waved the creatures away. Her eyes were closed shut, her face showing how much pain she was feeling.

One hand unconsciously clutching the book, and another massaging her legs. She must have broken every bone in her body when she fell. Not to mention that her hands--the same hand she's using to massage her swollen legs, has a long gash and bleeding profusely. She tried not to cry out in pain. Doing that will attract more harm to her.

She was about to try to stand up when she felt a cool sensation on her legs. Opening her eyes, she saw a woman crouching in front of her, two hands concentrated above her injury. Her hands were glowing white-golden sparks, and Botan was amazed that the pain started to go away. But she noticed that the woman winced while the pain decreased.

The woman smiled at her. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you..." and she could not help but say, "You were in pain, too, while you were healing me. Why is that?"

The woman nodded, and told her, "White magic is like that. It has a set back— when I take your pain away, I get some of it hurting me back..."

"Oh." Botan felt guilty and was about to say so when someone appeared. While the woman who healed her was wearing dark colors—a black and white kimono, the man behind him was wearing a robe in striking red and blue colors.

Botan could not help but stare at the mark on his forehead, with the letters "Jr." and the blue thing—a _pacifier?_—on his mouth. She stared in awe as he stared back without any expression.

"Ayame," he called the woman, but he did not tear his gaze from Botan. "You shouldn't be here. Let's go."

**XXXI**

"Koenma-sama..." Ayame's voice was meek, and Koenma broke his gaze away from Botan to look at Ayame.

Ayame stood up but did not leave. She looked at him; her eyes seemed to be pleading. For what, Botan didn't know. But Koenma-sama seemed affected by it.

His eyes softened as he looked away from Ayame and told her, "I will talk to Botan."

Ayame then bowed her head a little and started to leave. Koenma stopped her from going, and told her, "You may stay."

Botan resisted the urge to ask him how he knew her name. It was ironic that the day she ran away from Rinji and Ren, she assumed the name _Naya_ for her safety and yet the people she met after that seemed to know exactly who she was, and more.

* * *

To be continued… Thank you for reading!


	8. And the battle begins

**Past Life**

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

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**Chapter Eight: And the battle begins **

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**XXXII**

When Kino and Yumi arrived at the mouth of the cave, they were already physically spent.

But the return of Kino's power somehow gave them more hope. The inside of the cave was like a maze, and it was hard to find the way because it was so dark. Luckily, there were no demons in sight.

Perhaps an hour of walking through the darkness before hope of finding the children flickered. They heard _shrieks_.

In the dark, they looked at each other, preparing themselves for the worst. Hurriedly, they followed the sounds to the heart of the cave.

**XXXIII**

Botan was not interested in talking to anyone. All she cared right now is her brother. So when Koenma said they needed to talk about something, she vehemently refused.

"I'm sorry. But I am on a mission to save my brother. I really cannot spend time talking to you."

Koenma nodded. "I know." Botan did not ask how he knew. At the moment all she could think of is finding the cave. She was about to excuse herself when Koenma took her hand.

To her surprise, their surroundings changed. They were now in a place that looked so grand – like an oriental palace built in the sky. The three of them standing on a floating rock, one of many seeming to form paths to different directions. Exactly where they are, she couldn't guess, but they are far from the forest.

She panicked. She had no time to go sight-seeing while her brother is in trouble. She was going to tell him that when he explained. "Don't worry. I did not bring you elsewhere. We are currently on a dimension where we can see the Spirit World – and in this dimension, time is still and you will not lose precious time. Not a second. I just have to talk to you."

For some reason, she believed him, and relaxed a little.

He made it clear that he had no plans to stop her; in fact, he is _not allowed _to. "…But as the prince of the Spirit world I feel responsible to talk to you before you find the cave– before you and Ayame here do something drastic." Ayame did not seem to react to that. She kept her head bowed.

Koenma explained to Botan about the Spirit world and how it works. How he, the Prince, is assigned to govern all people. He explained about Enma Daioh, his father, the God of all gods, the creator of all beings. "He can foresee the events that will happen, and you, Botan will have a huge part in it."

**XXXIV**

Botan could not remember how they got there, but now the three of them have started to hop on to other floating rocks. Koenma told her about wars, in a somber kind of way, and Botan could tell that in every word he says, there are underlying meanings. And so she listened.

"…In every war there are casualties. No one would ever want casualties, but sometimes even we, the rulers Spirit World cannot prevent it. And yet, sometimes even when we can, we have to think of the salvation of the majority. If we are torn between saving a life of one and saving the life of many, we have to choose the majority because… I'm not proud to say, it is what _my father_ deems a better decision, and we have no choice but follow."

"So some people end out to be sacrifices…"At this point he cannot meet Botan's gaze, and it was his turn to look down, shadows casting upon his face. "There is nothing I could do; I just wanted to tell you that if I had a choice, I would stop you from going, and force you to save yourself. Just as the Guru had tried to keep you from learning about the Sorcerer, she too just wanted you safe. But we are forced to keep off this… mess."

Botan could tell from the start of his speech that _she_ is the casualty he is talking about. She could tell that they have foreseen something bad will happen to her, but that is nothing new. Isn't it the same thing the Guru had been trying to say? Like the Guru, this man, who Ayame had called Koenma-sama, wanted to stop her from hurting herself, but was _required_ not to meddle.

**XXXV**

"I am sorry. Please forgive us." She heard him say. Ayame stared at the broken form of the young ruler, and Botan could see tears forming on her eyes.

For her, these two are on a worse position than she is, because she is not being stopped from doing what she wants to do.

"Don't worry about it." She said, and the two were surprised to see a smile on her face. "I'm not blaming anyone. I am willing to do anything for my brother, and as long as you're not trying to stop me, no hard feelings on my part."

Koenma smiled bitterly. "I don't know what to think of you. Either you didn't understand a word I said, or you really just have a one-track mind. Botan… you do know we will meet again, don't you?" Botan nodded. "Once all of these have ended, I will see you again, and for what you is about to do, you will be greatly rewarded."

"No thanks. I don't care for anything at all other than saving my brother. I don't even care what saving my own brother has to do with the majority of people, I just want him safe..." She sighed. "But maybe you could promise me something."

"Tell me what it is and it will be done."

"In case something happened, promise me I will still get to see my brother someday." With what little she knew about the Spirit world, she thought this is something the prince could do.

Koenma promised. A few more words were spoken, but that was the only part that Ayame needed to hear. She understood now that there is nothing she can do. Koenma had explained enough. When they let Botan out of the dimension, they did not bother to say goodbye. They both knew that they will meet again _very soon_.

**XXXVI**

From out of nowhere, the children were surrounded by a group of demons. The demons seemed to be chanting a mantra. None of them understood the words, but they understood that the end was about to start.

The whole area inside the pentagram glowed.

The children screamed in pain, as bolts of electricity - like sparks shot through them, robbing them off their powers. They tried, but it was a fight they knew they would lose. They were bound.

Keitaro noticed that as the five's powers were being taken, the sparks made way to the center. While their powers were being drained, everything seemed to revitalize the sorcerer.

The five boys passed out.

Though he felt as much pain, Keitaro refused to lose consciousness. He knew his family will come to save him, and he wanted to be awake when they arrive.

And he was right: from the left, he heard voices calling his name. One of the voices undoubtedly is from his father.

His joy was short-lived, Satori was once again in front of him, and his pain doubled. But now that his father was there, he let his pain drag him to unconsciousness.

"_Satori_."

The Sorcerer looked at the entrance and saw who was intruding his little _party_. They needed no introductions. He knew exactly who Kino is.

He snorted, not willing to be interrupted. Satori was not interested in him, and Kino knew why. He was still thinking that he has no more powers left. That he cannot stop him.

Satori raised his hand above Keitaro's body. The final part of the ceremony is about to start. Just a few more minutes and he will have drained the boy's life energy. And once his body has taken everything, the body will not be able to resist his invasion.

Kino was having none of that. He will show him how wrong he is for underestimating him.

And that is when the fight began.

**XXXVII**

Botan still had no idea where she is exactly, but she tried hard to understand the map.

She started to walk to the direction she thinks is the right way.

Earlier she had realized that Ayame was not able to heal he wounds on her hands because they were interrupted by Koenma's appearance.

It seems that ever since she remembered that the wound started to hurt again. She winced but tried to dismiss it, at least it's not bleeding anymore.

_It must be my lucky time_, she thought. Her estimation was right. She found the mouth of the cave.

_Okay, not as lucky as I thought. _Several demons that seem to be on patrol outside arrived, and in no time she found herself being thrown to the biggest one's shoulder.

She started to struggle away, but with no success.

She had started to slam the book on the demon's back when she heard the other demons talking about the kids the Sorcerer had taken.

_They're taking me there!_ She realized. _They're taking me where Keitaro is!_

And so she decided to stop struggling and just let them bring her inside. Maybe this is the easiest way. She'll think of a way to free herself once they've brought her to her brother.

**XXXVIII**

He moved as fast as the wind. Whenever Kino tried to hit him, he gets away.

One moment he's in front of him and Kino makes his aim, and suddenly he's gone. Kino felt frustrated that he's wasting power surges on nothing.

Up to this point, Kino was still trying to balance his newly-regained powers, and though he knew from the start that what he regained was just a small portion of what he used to have, he also knew that it was better than nothing.

He fired another round of his bullet-like spirit blast, but once again, Satori evaded it by almost disappearing.

In a second, Satori was behind him, and before he knew what was coming, he was on the ground, a blazing ring of demon energy had just knocked him down. He did not even see it, but felt a burning sensation on his back.

When turned and tried to get up, Satori immediately stopped him. Two ringlets served as handcuffs on his wrists, keeping him from hitting back. A half-ring on his waist kept him from standing up. It seemed he was detained on the ground.

The Sorcerer's eyes were glinting, for him it was pure fun to see someone who used to be undefeatable down on the ground. He had no doubt he would win this. In fact, he could have killed him off earlier, but he'll play with him first. _Pure fun._

"Ready to give up?" he mocked.

"Not in my lifetime." His whole body glowed, and blue-gray sparks flew everywhere. Suddenly a loud blast lit the cave up, and we see that it had thrown Satori and his power rings away.

It was an old trick, one that Kino had always found exhausting. But it always worked against all hindrances. A few seconds was what he needed to gather enough energy, but it consumed a lot. From that time he tried not to fire unless he's sure he'd hit him. He started to feel he's running out of energy, but it was satisfying to see that little by little Satori is also starting to slow down.

**XXXIX**

Still on the entrance, Yumi doesn't know what to do, how to help. Earlier she had tried to warn Kino but a second was not enough for her to have a chance to shout. She could tell that Kino has no chance at all to win this. She started to lose hope.

Suddenly, three bulky demons arrived, one of them carrying Botan. With the martial arts she knew, Yumi immediately knocked down the three to free her friend.

Both girls hurried to the center when they heard a loud screech. For a while they couldn't see anything; dust and fog covering the place where Yumi last saw the dueling demons were.

When the fog cleared, Botan saw her father first. He was thrown towards their direction. She shrieked when she saw that he was bloody and scarred. She ran fast to aid her father, Yumi following suit.

Satori, seeing that Kino has fallen, considered the fight just ended.

The chants of the unmoving demons seemed to become louder, catching Botan's attention for a while. She couldn't see, but she knew that in the middle of the crowd was her brother, and Satori just resumed his position in front of the children, not even giving the two girls a second glance.

"Botan, please leave. Try to find a way out of here," Kino whispered.

"No… I'm sorry but I can't." She hushed whatever her father was going to say. She tried to make him lie on his side, and from his torn shirt he could see that he had burns on his back.

If only she could do something…

**XL**

_I could try_, she thought._ I am a reigen too, and if Keitaro inherited both mother and father's powers, maybe even just a little, I got something from our mother._

She closed her eyes and remembered how Ayame healed the wounds on her legs. Following her earlier actions, Botan placed both hands above her father's wounds. And she concentrated really hard.

At first, she thought she just imagined the white-golden sparks that started to glow, a replica of what she saw on Ayame's hands. But hearing Yumi's gasp proved that it wasn't imagination.

She felt as if her hands were being burned, and she remembered what Ayame said—that in using white magic the pain of the person she's healing will bounce back to her. It was _very_ _painful_, but she didn't stop. She saw that the wounds were starting to heal.

Kino was shocked to realize that she just used is sophisticated white magic they never knew she had.

"Botan… how did you learn to do that?" Yumi and Kino asked at the same time.

She shook her head and refused to explain. Inside she felt her heart beating faster, and she felt nauseous, partly from this new experience, and mostly because of the sickening sound of repeated mantra she'd been hearing since she arrived.

"I'll explain later. Please, we have to save Keitaro!"

**XLI**

With that, Kino ran towards the pentagram to save his son.

Unfortunately for him, Satori, who was at the center of the pentagram heard him run past the chanting demons and try to enter the forbidden area.

Pissed that he still got up, he had no plans to give him another chance to interrupt. Satori stepped out to meet him and teach him a lesson.

Kino was not given a chance to fight, before he gathered enough power for another spirit blast, Satori hit him very hard.

Kino's blood spilled to the ground, seeping into an outer part of the star-like shape, running towards the center. The straight path it followed seemed to glow anew.

Another blow and he fell inside the pentagram area, near his son, writhing in pain. He now realized that earlier Satori was holding back; that he is more powerful than he seemed when they fought earlier.

He tried to stand, but found that he cannot. It seems that he is now also bound inside, just as his son and these five other kids are.

* * *

To be continued… Thank you for reading!


	9. One Last Smile

**Past Life**

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

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**Chapter Nine: ****One Last Smile**

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**XLII**

Kino's frustration became worse. Now he was bound inside this pentagram. But no, he can't give up. He had to find a way.

He tried and tried, but he cannot leave his spot on the pentagram. Satori did not let the opportunity to mock him pass.

"Well, what do we have here? Someone wants to join my party," he said, the sound of his laughter echoing through the cave.

He stopped laughing when a single shard of spirit energy escaped the pentagram but missed Satori's cheek by a mere centimeter.

Satori grinned. "Resilience… I like that."

But a tiny shard was far from what Kino needed.

"Damn," Kino muttered. He punched on the ground, frustrated that nothing worked.

He was surprised to see that the part of the pentagram that he hit—the center of it, the part Keitaro's feet seemed glued on—glowed when he hit it. The demon energy he accidentally produced out of anger seemed to have sunk in.

Satori was momentarily stunned when he felt the demon energy invade his body. The mark on his forehead, a replica of the mark on the ground, glowed as it happened.

Kino gave a victorious smile. In one shot, he gave all of the remaining demon energy he had left to the center, hoping against hope that this will work.

It did work, but not the way Kino had planned. He's now as weak as an ordinary ningen, all of them could tell.

When he started passing on his demon energy to the pentagram, it had sucked everything—and when Kino realized the mistake he had made, he could not make it stop.

"That was so nice of you," Satori taunted. "You may have missed me telling these kids about the pentagram—that passage at the center is not merely a way out, a way to reach me. It is directly connected to the mark on my forehead… And its function is to _gather_ power for me."

Those were the last words Kino heard before is exhaustion dragged him to unconsciousness.

**XLIII**

"No!" Once again, Botan tried to get inside the pentagram, but she couldn't get past the barrier. She could see no hindrance, and yet she felt like a thick wall was separating them from those inside. She looked at Yumi expectantly. "Yumi, how do I get in?"

She heard Satori laugh. "Are you an idiot? You _want_ to be a part of this? Thanks for the offer, but you have no power to interest me," and he laughed again.

Botan didn't listen. Satori had once again left them and focused on some ill-sounding chant. Botan feared that this one is the final part.

A concrete plan had already formed in her mind.

"Yumi, please?" she pleaded the girl who doesn't seem to want to let her know what she wanted to know.

"It's not safe, Botan."

"Please?"

"O-okay, but first, tell me what you're going to do."

_How can I say? We can't let him know,_ Botan thought.

Yumi gasped a little, but easily regained her composure and said, "Think it and I will hear."

And she told her, in her mind, "Iwill offer all of the reigen energy I can call. Once I do, his body will not take it. Reikai and Makai energy cannot coexist in one body. If it's not enough, and I'm sure it won't be because he had taken Keitaro's too and that's very powerful…"

**XLIV**

Botan stopped for a second, momentarily distracted, remembering how her mother's spirit energy gave out because Keitaro's demon energy was so strong. She knew that what part of her white magic she could control is just small, but from what she heard about the dark magic's sacrifice, she will be capable of offering everything she has, even the power that has yet to be awakened.

"Then I'll do what you told me about in the forest earlier, remember it?—I will sacrifice myself to the pentagram, and all will be transferred to him the way he planned to do to Keitaro. The book said that it is the most effective way to offer anything and _everything_. All of the Makai energy he stole will clash with all of Reikai's that is in me. It will destroy him."

"No! You can't do that!" Yumi protested.

"But you promised." She insisted. "You have to tell me."

The girl's eyes clouded with tears. "Blood…. You have to offer a little of yours to be a part of the pentagram. When your father's blood touched the base, it locked him in." She started to whimper when she saw Botan pick a pointed rock to make a healing wound on her arms bleed. As Botan entered the pentagram, they both closed their eyes.

"Guru…" Yumi called in her mind desperately. "If you can hear me, please try to stop what Botan is going to do!"

**XLV**

Botan opened her eyes, and saw that she's no longer in the cave but a room with no walls. Strangely, there is nothing on the ground, no one around. This must be another dimension; only, there wasn't anything to see but white.

"You're really a hard-headed thing," she heard a voice say.

She looked behind her, and saw that it was the guru. She couldn't say anything.

"You will sacrifice everything," the guru said, even knowing that she understood what she is about to give up, "Even the chance to be reborn. Anyone who used dark magic to sacrifice her life—regardless of her reason, has just made a pact to the devils of the Netherworld. Your soul will be tainted, ruined beyond repair." She shook her head.

"My brother will be saved," she said, finally finding her voice.

"Yes." The guru closed her eyes. "He will grow up to be a fine warrior. He will be the savior of many, even in his future lives."

Botan smiled. "All is good then."

"For him and for many others, yes, but how about you? Have you even stopped to think what will happen to you?"

Since Botan had answered this question before, she knew she did not need to answer.

"Your soul will be surrendered to a place where the worst punishments are given: to the Netherworld, the world where all this sorcery had originated. Using this dark magic that is from them, your soul will be the payment. No one can save you there, you will be their slave."

**XLVI**

The guru stopped and waited for Botan's reaction.

She didn't say anything; she just waited for her to continue.

"Not even Enma's powers can save you, for he has yet to conquer the fourth world. When Enma-daioh foresaw all of this, and knowing that I had the same vision, he warned me not to help you. That's why before you came to my dojo, I already know... As Enma-daioh predicted, there was no one who could take down the Sorcerer. Reikai's warriors are still not ready for this fight, for only last year we have lost our best fighters to a war. What I wanted was to stop you, or offer to help you fight, but he told me how Hana's spirit energy is stronger and purer than that of anyone in Reikai… and it was passed on to you. Now that Hana is gone, your spirit energy is their only way to kill the demon energy in Satori's body."

"It is just me then. I see I've made the right decision."

"No, you don't see it clearly. If you do what you're planning to, no one can stop the demons of the Netherworld from claiming your soul. Only when you finally die your second death, your soul will be sent to Reikai. For those in Reikai it would seem only a day that you were gone, but in reality you will have suffered more than a hundred years in the Netherworld. Do you understand now, what you are pursuing?"

**XLVII**

"Yes. But I still haven't changed my mind. I will look forward to meeting Koenma in Reikai afterwards. He promised I will meet my brother again someday."

The guru seemed surprised that she had talked to Koenma but she seemed satisfied knowing this. "If Koenma said so, then he will do it. At least you have something to look forward to in your hardships." She sighed. "Still… I do not approve of this. The Reigens would forgive you, for they will gain in this too, but the only thing they can offer you is a place in Reikai, for you can't be reborn, and will never be fit to enter heaven." She shook her head in hopelessness. "If there is something I could really do to help you…"

"Guide me how it's effectively done. Soon it will be over," Botan said, trying one last time to convince the guru. "I will be grateful if you will guide me so… Even Enma thinks it's the best way. My brother will be saved. A lot of humans and demons will be saved from the sorcerer's plans. If a life has to be sacrificed, then let it be me. Whatever fate I will have in the Netherworld, it would only be a fair price to pay for the safety of the three worlds. And I will meet Koenma again and he will let me be with my brother as he promised. Everything will be alright afterwards."

The guru closed her eyes, and nodded. In no time, her appearance as well as the whole dimension faded in Botan's eyes. She was back to the cave, and like in Koenma's dimension, there was not any second lost.

**XLVIII**

Yumi was confused, feeling that something had changed once Botan entered the pentagram. One moment she looked panicked, and suddenly she's focused and confident.

Botan kneeled at the center, just beside her unconscious father and brother. Her bloodied hands found a certain mark on the ground, the one that is the same as the mark on Satori's forehead.

One hand on the ground, and the other cradling her brother, she started to mumble words that Yumi knew were not of their native language. She strained to understand what Botan is saying.

Her mouth opened wide when she heard the words Botan was slowly chanting, as if repeating after someone. She realized who that could be. It was the Guru.

She had heard her call, then. But she's doing the opposite of what Yumi pleaded.

Yumi couldn't understand.

Why was the Guru teaching that strange spell from the Netherworld? She may not understand the language fully, but she could tell it is dark magic. Dark magic is only used in Makai and Netherworld, but Yumi can understand words from Makai.

The words she's using are definitely from the Netherworld. And Yumi need not understand the language of the Netherworld to know what the chant would do.

Suddenly, she heard the Guru tell to her, in her mind, "She knows what she's doing and she's ready for the consequences of it."

**XLIX**

Satori concentrated on the chants, in continuation of what Kino and Botan had delayed him from doing earlier.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw the blue-haired girl enter the pentagram.

He didn't care. There wasn't anything the girl could do.

In a manner of minutes, the young power source's body will be his. And in a newer body, he will be indestructible.

A girl as weak as Keitaro's sister can never defeat him.

He closed his eyes and continued his chant, content in hearing the echoing chants of his minions.

Until he heard another voice— it was the voice of the blue-haired girl.

She was now positioned at the center of the pentagram, whispering a chant that Satori recognized—the chant for offering a soul.

"What are you doing?" he bellowed.

Why was the girl offering herself? Satori wondered, still clueless to Botan's heritage. The only thing he knew about her was that she is Kino's second child, and that she did not inherit any of Kino's demon energy.

He had no idea that the girl has the blood and spirit energy of a reigen, that this girl who he had dismissed as a weak half-youkai is also half-reigen.

He will never know how wrong he was to underestimate her.

**L**

Keitaro awoke and found himself in the arms of his sister.

She must have sensed him wake up, but she did not say anything to him. She was saying words that Keitaro did not understand.

He wanted to stand up but he was still bound in his place. He wanted to know what Botan was doing, but his energy is too drained off that he couldn't even speak.

He watched as Botan continued a cryptic chant, her left hand supporting him, almost in a hug, as if she was trying to protect him from the sudden gush of strong wind.

Botan's right hand was on the ground, glowing. He was surprised to notice that the cave seemed to have lit up—and was more surprised to know that the light is emitted by the star-like shape on the ground.

Something that is beyond him is happening, and his sister seems to be controlling it.

**LI**

Satori felt Botan's spirit energy entering his body.

He felt the insides of his body shudder, demon and spirit ki clashing.

As it was for Keitaro when he was born, Makai and Reikai energy cannot coexist in a body. One must give way. But since both were so powerful, every part of Satori's body seems to be in revolt. The pain was unbearable.

When he finally realized what was happening, he tried to stop it.

He tried to close the connection between the pentagram and the mark on his forehead. But he couldn't.

There was no stopping Botan's spirit energy from invading his body.

His tainted soul fighting against her pure soul, this created the final assault.

A flash of white, and his body seemed to shatter into pieces.

Pure soul and spirit energy had won.

**LII**

Keitaro realized that the cloaked demons had disappeared, at the same time that Satori's body turned into dust.

The sudden silence—the absence of the repeated chants, and the sight of the fading pentagram made him realize that it's all over.

"Nee-chan?" he nudged his sister, who had suddenly lost balance and fell atop him. Now realizing that he was no longer bounded in his place, he moved to kneel beside his sister, shaking her awake. "Nee-chan, wake up."

Slowly, she opened her eyes. "He's gone, isn't he?" she asked weakly.

Keitaro nodded. His eyes widened when he saw strange gray marks on her arms and cheeks. The marks are similar to the shape of scratch made by claws.

Botan could not see the marks but felt them. "It's a sign... they are fetching me now."

"What are you saying, nee-chan? Who are they? Where are they taking you?" Tears started to form on the young boy's almond eyes.

"Somewhere far… but we will see each other again someday." She reached for him and wiped the tears on his eyes. "Don't be sad… The guru told me you'll grow up to be a great warrior. A hero. Promise me you'll be good... and I promise that we'll meet again… and when that day comes, I'll be so proud of you."

He still didn't understand, but he knew that if she said they will meet again, then they will. She had never broken any promise to him.

"I promise," he said, noting that his father and the five children had regained consiousness. There was also another girl from the entrance that has started to walk towards them.

"I will look forward to the day we meet again, Keitaro… I promise someday we will." Before her body started to fade and completely disappeared, she gave him her sweetest smile.

* * *

To be continued… Thank you for reading!


	10. The End

**Past Life**

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

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Chapter Ten: The End

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**LIII**

His father had just defeated and captured the king of the Netherworld. The war is over. What remains of the Netherworld are scattered, floating rubbles in space, and wandering about are the souls they have just freed.

Koenma walked slowly, searching for a certain blue-haired girl. When he finally found her, Koenma had expected to see someone who needs saving, someone who's weary of the war.

But she surprised him with a bright smile—it was as if she was not gone very long, and that nothing much happened. Well, physically she looked rather bad—she had lost weight, her skin was pale, and her clothes tattered as everyone else, but she was the same girl he had met before.

It was a wonder how she managed to keep a positive attitude given the reputation of the Netherworld, and the severity of damage souls incur after a week's stay. Koenma thought that she was the only light in the space.

"Guess what?" she said, as if they are old friends who were separated from each other for a very short time.

"…What?" he asked, not knowing what to expect.

"I know now how to fully control my white magic. I can help you with your rescue operation!" she said proudly. Koenma looked doubtful. So she added, "You see, I made a lot of friends here, and I would rather stay for a while and help them than be among the first to leave."

That had gotten him to agree. The ogres were busy helping the others, but they do lack manpower. For the next hours, they worked side by side, gathering hundreds of souls that were once prisoners of Netherworld, preparing them for their next destination: to the Spirit World.

Botan helped heal those who were hurt, while Koenma directed Ayame and the other ferry girls in bringing the souls to Reikai. It took a while before Koenma told her that it's time to go back to Reikai.

Judging by Ayame's expression when she escorted her to the ruler's office, it seems that they have more bad news for her.

**LIV**

"Alright. So you mean to say that you do not know where my brother is." She blew air, trying as hard as she can to stay calm. With her current condition, it was almost impossible.

"I'm sorry." Koenma sighed. "I know you're tired of hearing that from me by now. But I really am sorry. As I said, you were gone for so long, and you missed your brother's entire lifetime."

"Yes, I understand that much. You already said I was gone for _years_. But didn't you tell me before, that it's the Spirit World's _duty_ to keep track of souls? How come you don't know where my brother's soul is?"

At the corner of the room, Ayame stared at the girl. In all the years she watched over her, this is the first time she saw this side of Botan's personality. But of course, it was understandable.

"It wasn't our fault!" Koenma shouted, frustrated and guilty at the same time. "It was your brother who evaded us! I have no idea how he learned about the other worlds. And how could we have predicted that he was planning to follow you wherever you are?"

"My brother grew up in Ningenkai, so I have no idea who—" her eyes widened, and she turned to Ayame. "Do you know what happened to Yumi?"

When Ayame and Koenma looked at each other instead of answering her, Botan knew that there are more to what they're telling her.

Her arms crossed on her chest, she put on the meanest look she could, and demanded: "Will you tell me _everything_ that happened after I was sent to the Netherworld—without secrets this time?"

**LV**

_When Botan disappeared, everyone rushed to Keitaro, who was at shock at what happened. Kino silently grieved for losing their daughter._

_Ayame was compelled to go there, watching out for her best friend's family, despite that they do not seem to notice her presence. The five children were still weak from what happened, and so Ayame gathered them all and healed their wounds._

_She then noticed Yumi glance her way before heading over to Keitaro. _

_For a long while, Keitaro stayed kneeling in place, fists clenched, his head bowed down. He was taking deep breaths, and they all knew that as he promised his sister, he wasn't crying. _

_When he finally calmed, Yumi suddenly offered a hand to him. The younger boy looked up, and silently accepted it. None of them spoke._

_They were all surprised when they felt the ground shake._

"_Earthquake!" one of the children shouted. Ayame directed them to the exit. _

_Giving Kino, who was now helping Ayame, a polite nod; Yumi tapped Keitaro's shoulder, and said to him, "Well, we have to leave. We wouldn't want to be trapped inside this cave, right?" _

"_Uh-huh," Keitaro mumbled, and with a stronger voice, called the other children, "What are we all waiting for? Let's go!" Hand in hand, they left the cave._

**LVI**

_Ten years passed since she was taken, and at the time both the Guru and Kino had passed away. _

_The friendship that had started between Keitaro and Yumi kept them both strong. They were opposites but they seemed to understand each other deeply. Together, they strived to learn more about the four worlds, those who rule it, and sought for a way to find out where she had been sent._

_And now, Keitaro stood in front of the Prince of Reikai, with Yumi on his side. Koenma noted how the two looked so grown up and strong. _

"_We did not accept your messenger's invitation just to hear some nonsense from you," Keitaro said harshly. "There's only one thing I want to hear from you. Tell us where my sister is!"_

_In truth, Koenma still did not know what happened to Botan. The days in the Netherworld pass faster than the other worlds, and it was a puzzle why she still hasn't turned up. But he was trying his best._

"_I will repeat," Koenma said with an equally strong tone, "you have come to the wrong place. I gather that you learned about Reikai and thought that we are the ones responsible for taking your sister. But as I have said, it wasn't us—"_

"_Then what's the use of inviting us here?!" Keitaro's voice raised, and Yumi nudged him, silently telling him to calm down. _

"_We called you here to tell you to stop attempting to go to Makai. It won't get you anywhere. Botan is not there. Right now, Reikai is in another war against the Netherworld, and we can't afford to lose again. Your sister… she's in that world. If we win, we'll get her back. So what I want you to do is to keep away from trouble—trust me, she's not in Makai. If you insist on going there and if any of you ended hurt or dead, you will only start another war."_

"_Then, if my sister really is in that world—let me help you save her," he said confidently._

"_No."_

_Keitaro's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean no? I am perfectly capable of—"_

"_I know what you're capable of—I watched Kino train youfor the past years—but this isn't about your strength. I promised your sister that when she gets back the two of you will be reunited. What do you think will she feel if you died before that?"_

_Yumi watched as the two sized each other up. None of them would back down. _

"_You won't change your mind?" Keitaro finally asked._

"_I won't. And you are hereby forbidden from leaving Ningenkai until I send another messenger to—" Koenma stopped abruptly when Keitaro started to leave, only sparing him a short wave of goodbye._

"_I believe we have to go," Yumi politely said. "I'm sorry, but we can't just wait around when we're not sure what my friend is going through." With that, she joined Keitaro who's waiting for her at the door. _

_The messenger who brought them there brought them back to Ningenkai. It was the last time Koenma saw the two._

**LVII**

Her shoulders sagged. "So you mean they're both missing… up to now."

"We don't understand exactly how," Ayame confessed, "but we believe that they found a way to hide from us. We cannot even sense their spirit—it's as if they disappeared entirely."

"The only clue we found is this," Koenma handed her a piece of paper. Botan knew it was a torn page from Yumi's book. "There are vague side notes about phasing, astral projection, possession, and many others... Nothing clear, but we can see from this what they were trying to do."

"They wanted to travel from one body to another so you will not find them," she guessed. "They were researching about it. So you can't stop them from going where they wanted to. Will they be able to do something like that successfully?"

"Nothing's certain," Koenma admitted. "You know well by now that Yumi's mind is hard to decipher. We're not sure exactly what she can do or invent from unproven theories. What I fear is that if something went wrong… which is probably what happened, since it's been so long since then…"

**LVIII**

"That means… I'll never see them again?" she asked, breathing deeply and trying not to cry. She has been through a lot, and had survived things worse than this. Still…

"There's still hope," Ayame assured her. "You see, there are two possible ending to what they did: either they succeeded or they didn't. If they succeeded, it's unlikely we'll get a hold of them anytime soon, unless they found you. But if they did not succeed, if something bad _did_ happen to them, they'll have ended up as souls and sent here. But they didn't. I believe they're safe somewhere…"

"If they succeeded, and are safe, there's still the chance that they miscalculated things," Koenma reminded them, "if that's the case, it will take a longer time before we find them."

"Am I going to assume that they are now in a different body? If that is so, how will I find them? Or recognize them?"

"You won't have to see, but you will feel it." Ayame said. "I'm sure you will recognize your brother when you find him."

"Am I… allowed to search for him then?"

"Technically, no. Father has imposed stricter rules because of the war." Both women stared at him. Koenma looked at Ayame and sighed. Turning to Botan, he said, "but I can give you the only post where you'll be allowed to go almost anywhere. I hate to say this but we practically have no resources to help you find your brother."

"T-that's okay. But what do you mean, post?"

"Well, that's equivalent to work," Koenma explained. "Ayame is able to go to almost everywhere because of her post as ferry girl. It's the only job that doesn't have many restrictions in terms of freedom to leave Reikai. If you don't have any objections to that, we can make that official…"

"No objections," she said resignedly, "for as long as no one will stop me from traveling."

And for many years after that, Botan spent most of her free time looking for her brother everywhere. Though it only started as a front, she was noted as one of the most dedicated ferry girls in Reikai. Despite this broken promise, she was loyal to and respectful of the prince.

So Ayame did not wonder why it was Botan that Koenma chose to be the spirit detective's assistant. She was just perfect for the job.

**LIX**

_Many years after…_

The ferry girl blinked several times, wondering why she is now in Koenma's office. Just a while ago they were at the rooftop of a building, where Yusuke and the rest of the team were fighting against Yakumo, king of the Netherworld.

"Botan..." Koenma called out.

She gasped. "Koenma-sama, you're safe!" Unable to stop herself, she lounged to give him a bear-hug.

"Hey, you—I can't breathe!" he protested. Botan broke away and smiled quite tearfully.

Looking at the Spirit World monitor, they saw that the team is still struggling against Yakumo. They watched in silence for a while.

"Koenma-sama, why am I here?" she asked worriedly. "Did I…"

Koenma shook his head. "No. I just have to tell you something important."

She nodded. "What is it?"

"It's about… Yusuke…" Koenma said slowly, as if still not decided what to say.

She blinked, her expression immediately turning serious. She waited as Koenma composed himself.

Two minutes passed, and he said nothing... four… ten… Still nothing…

Botan decided that it was her stare that is making him nervous. So she looked away from him, and fixed her gaze on the monitor.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei were making a formation—and it's obvious what their intention was, despite that she saw this only for the first time. Botan felt no doubt that their team will win this fight.

**LX**

A few minutes more…

"Koenma-sama?" she called her boss, her gaze still fixed on the monitor, watching as Yusuke fought one-on-one with the king of the Netherworld.

"Hmm?" he answered, his expression showing his worry.

"I just want to tell you… that I already know." And then she looked at him, watched for his reaction.

He almost fell off his chair. "W-what?"

"Like I said," she repeated carefully, "I already know. Keitaro was reborn into the human world several years ago… and he is now better known as Urameshi Yusuke, Spirit Detective."

His mouth agape, Koenma could not believe what he heard. "But, how could you have known?!"

"It was obvious."

Now the prince really did fall.

"What do you mean obvious?" he shouted at her. "We worked hard to hide it from you because you might not let him work for us because you were so protective of your brother, and you're telling me it was obvious?! Why didn't you tell me?"

She frowned, her face turning red. "That's supposed to be my line! With all due respect, I'm the one who has the right to be mad here!"

**LXI**

After long deep breaths, Koenma calmed down. He knew that she was right about that, and he owed her an explanation.

"Yeah… right. Look, it was a really hard decision. We only figured out that he was Keitaro when it was settled that we'll recruit him as a spirit detective. We could never have guessed, until… Until I noticed Keiko."

Botan frowned. "What has Keiko got to do with this?"

"Well, I was randomly checking on the details of Yusuke's life, when I saw the file photo for Keiko. If you didn't notice, she was the spitting image of Yumi—" he continued, ignoring Botan's gasp, "and I had the research department gather every single report about her. Tracing back to her past life, we found that her record was suspiciously skipping a lot of details."

"What kind of details?"

"I looked up Keiko's past life- she was a psychic who lived hundreds of years under the name Fuuko. Normally, when a soul dies, ferry girls gather the soul, and your records should include the details of their lifetime up to the time they are sent here for judgment. If a soul is to be reborn, it is appended to her previous record. But Fuuko's record starts the day she wandered to Ningenkai, up to the time he died and was reborn as Keiko Yukimura. There are no details of Fuuko's life before Yumi disappeared."

"What made you sure that Fuuko _is_ Yumi? There has to be others who had records like that?"

"It was Yumi's book. The Guru once told me that it has no other copy, and it disappeared with Yumi. Fuuko has the exact same book, I'm sure you will recognize it, we have kept it in our vault since Keiko was born."

"What happened to Keitaro? I mean, after he disappeared and before he was reborn as Yusuke?"

"Unlike Keiko who lived hundreds of years as Fuuko, he was reborn several times into different demons before being reborn as Yusuke. That's why we didn't notice it right way, the discrepancy on his record. But his record, too, had started the day after Keitaro and Yumi disappeared."

"I see. But when did it say exactly that Yusuke is Keitaro? Other than being childhood sweethearts, he and Keiko had no other link..."

"Because of Fuuko's death."

**LXII**

"Huh?"

"Fuuko had met Atsuko when she was carrying Yusuke. It seems that she had been looking for him all these years and was able to recognize his presence. But Fuuko died that day… and when she was ferried here, all I noted was her clean record; I immediately marked her as worthy to be reborn. I remember now, she requested to be reborn to Yusuke's neighborhood."

Botan kept silent, hanging on to his every word.

"She didn't mention Yusuke or Atsuko, but she said that she loved that neighborhood and that's where she wanted to live her next life. I thought of that as weird, but we both have met souls with more unexplainable desires. I said that it won't matter anyway because she will lose her memory in the process, but she still insisted."

"So you let her. And even without her memory, she grew up close to Yusuke…"

"Yes. You know that we usually don't bother with the souls' material belongings. She said that she will give me a gift, but I mustn't open it until we met again. I thought that bag was just another of those bribes we sometimes receive, and dismissed it to be sent to the vault after a ferry girl said it's a book. If I bothered to look, I should have known it was the sorcery book… that was also partly a diary from Fuuko. She wrote there that they were separated, and that she never gave up looking for the two of you. She wandered around hoping to sense him in the crowd, knowing that Keitaro's soul would always be reborn to a strong host. In Yusuke's case, a Mazoku, and though it was long after that before he manifested such power, she recognized him…"

"And you only opened the book and found out the truth when you suspected Keiko… Oh, Koenma-sama. We should tell them. Isn't this romantic? My brother is so lucky—"

"Yes, yes, he is… But seriously, how did _you_ know?"

**LXIII**

"I didn't _know_. I suspected… but I was not a hundred percent sure. When I first saw Yusuke, I felt drawn to him. I felt like I knew him for a long time. But because so many things happened from there, I never had the chance to question things. But I knew you were up to something when you assigned me as his assistant. You never forgot that I'm searching for Keitaro, and I wondered why you would make me do something that would take my time off from searching… Every once in a while, I secretly watch him, hoping to see a distinct similarity between them."

They both looked at the screen, and realized that the fight was over.

"He made it!" Koenma shouted.

"He did, didn't he?" She smiled, glad that everything is finally over.

Yusuke was heading towards her body.

"You have to go back now," Koenma said, "But before you go… I have something to ask."

"Ask away."

"It's—it's uh, about your stay at the Netherworld."

"What about it?"

"Why did you stay there for so long? You were gone for such a long time… and you never said a word about your life there."

What was there to say? In truth, Botan could not remember that much. She remembered vague details. Like the darkness… the Netherworld was a very dark place. The smell of something rotten, that she was reminded of when Yakumo carried her earlier.

But there was also... hope and faith. She remembered clinging on to Koenma's promise that she and Keitaro will meet again. And the memory of deciding to stay because she learned to heal and there were so many prisoners there that needed her help. She never realized that she had lost so much time.

She looked at Koenma and realized that he never meant to ask about the Netherworld.

"Koenma-sama… you wanted to ask for forgiveness, right? For losing Keitaro and for not telling me when you finally found him…"

Koenma nodded. "Will you forgive me?"

She smiled. "There's nothing to ask forgiveness for. Without you, I wouldn't have had this chance to meet Yusuke and the rest of the team. You once told me you owe me a reward… but this is already worth more than any reward."

**LXIV**

When she opened her eyes, she realized that she is back to her body, in Yusuke's arms.

He was watching her, and knowing that she's back made him smile.

_His smile, it is exactly like Keitaro's smile. _

**LXV**

A few minutes after, the team started to leave the building. There were loud boasts and cheers, and Yusuke's voice definitely topped it. Botan didn't join in, but quietly watched the teen.

"Yusuke," she called very softly, but she caught his attention right away.

"What?" he asked nonchalantly, carefully guiding her every step.

"I'm so proud of you."

"Hm?" Yusuke gave her a short glance, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. Thinking that she was talking about the fight that had just ended, he gave her a confident grin and said, "Well, you didn't really think I can't beat him did'ja?"

She smiled, not minding the arrogance in his voice. "I knew you'd beat him. And every other villain that will come our way. I'll always be proud of you no matter what."

* * *

The end… Thank you for reading!

* * *

It took me so long to post the latest three chapters, that when I went back rereading / reviewing this I wanted to change almost everything. But this being my first fanfic, despite that I wrote several others in between, I thought it would be better to keep it as it's originally meant to be. I had to quit desiring to write in detail about Fuuko's search. I just had no energy and time for a longer chapter.

I also want to make it clear that I am NOT writing this against the Yusuke/Botan fanon pairing. Some of my online friends are YB fans, so I'm not writing this against YB fans either. This is just a fanfic I thought of writing, for the sake of writing! YB fans, please don't hate me. (Peace, my dear Lonelymiracle, if you ever get to read this…) And hello Yusuke x Keiko fans, I hope you liked my little surprise! :D

Lastly, I really want to thank again all of you who've read all ten chapters! Thank you thank you thank you, arigato, maraming salamat po for being so patient with me! I really appreciate it! (^_^)


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